GLIAC -- Ferris State's Kadyn Blanchard and Northern Michigan's Leo Nolles have been named the recipients of the 2025-26 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Pat Riepma Postgraduate Scholarship. The honor, which awards each recipient, one female and one male, $5,000 in aid to the graduate school of their choice, was voted on by the Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs) of the GLIAC member institutions.
Blanchard, Ferris State women's basketball's all-time leading scorer, will attend Logan University in pursuit of a Doctor of Chiropractic degree alongside a Master’s in Sports Rehabilitation. Blanchard's ultimate career goal is to operate her own chiropractic office, helping athletes get back to being healthy and playing at their full potential.
Nolles, the 2025 GLIAC Swimmer of the Year, plans to pursue a Master's Degree in Exercise Science at Northern Michigan University. In the future, he plans to work in coaching and educational settings where her can teach performance and skill development informed by science. He also aims to share his knowledge in his home country of Uruguay, supporting athlete development and promoting evidence-based coaching practices.
The GLIAC Postgraduate Scholarship is named after former Northwood University Athletic Director and head football coach Pat Riepma who passed away in July of 2015 after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer. Pat spent over 21 years at Northwood and was the all-time winningest coach in football history as well as the long time Athletic Director. While his achievements on the field and on behalf of the athletic department are impressive, Pat will be forever remembered for the person he was. Pat was a passionate, spiritual man who inspired thousands of people even before he became sick. While Pat is gone, his mantra of "Go MAD"- Go Make a Difference, will live on.
Kadyn Blanchard, Ferris State
Ferris State University senior standout Kadyn Blanchard closed out a remarkable career as the Bulldogs' all-time career women's basketball scoring leader, tallying nearly 2,000 career points. Blanchard led the GLIAC in scoring this past season as a senior, averaging 17 points per game while reaching double-figure scoring in 29 games for a squad that reached the NCAA Tournament. She scored 20 points or more in 12 games and was one of the region's top performers. Tabbed as the 2026 GLIAC Player of the Year, Blanchard was a three-time all-conference honoree and was both a first-team pick along with an all-defensive team performer this year. The four-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team choice led the Bulldogs to four NCAA D2 Tournament appearances in her career, including a berth in the D2 National Semifinals in 2024. Blanchard helped FSU win both GLIAC regular season and tournament titles in her career and was with the program for six years, returning twice from season-ending injuries. She was highly active in the program's various community service initiatives in addition to training and coaching youth basketball players. Additionally, she has served on the Bulldogs' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has been FSU's SAAC President.
Leo Nolles, Northern Michigan
Leo Nolles is one of the most decorated student-athletes to go through the Northern Michigan swim and dive program. In his four seasons with Northern Michigan, the Maldonado, Uruguay native represented his country in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, is a 21x All-American, has earned three medals at the NCAA Championships, earned 19 GLIAC Championship medals with eight golds, and has both broken and is currently holding numerous NMU school and pool records.
At the time of writing, Nolles has earned three CSC Academic All-District honors and one CSC Academic All-America honor, received a GLIAC Commissioner’s Award and GLIAC Swimmer of the Year honor in 2025, and earned CSCAA First-Team Scholar All-American honors.
Along with his dedication in the pool and training, Nolles is dedicated to giving back to the community, and shows up for the Marquette community in many ways: he regularly volunteers with the Special Olympics, where he teaches and coaches specially abled athletes in swimming and resistance training, is engaged with Northern Center for Lifelong Learning where he shares his experiences as an Olympic athlete with actively engaged older adults, visits the Beacon House of Marquette to cook and socialize with families in difficult situations, volunteers at the Marquette Marathon with aid stations, volunteers to work at NMU sporting events, and helped rake leaves at Marquette Elementary School with his teammates.
Nolles will be returning to Northern Michigan University to pursue his master's in exercise science.
Nolles is now just the third student-athlete from Northern Michigan to receive this scholarship: Stephanie Howe of the cross country team during the 2005/06 school year, and Nathan Rotundo of the swimming and diving team during the 2018/19 school year.
